


On Bloodied Thorns

by argentaria



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: F/F, Female My Unit | Byleth, Fire Emblem: Three Houses Golden Deer Route Spoilers, Hurt No Comfort, Post-Time Skip, Pre-Time Skip, Sorta Black Eagles Spoilers, Unresolved Romantic Tension, Unresolved Sexual Tension, allowing one's self to come into harm
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-14
Updated: 2019-08-14
Packaged: 2020-08-23 11:46:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,067
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20242330
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/argentaria/pseuds/argentaria
Summary: Some choices cannot be undone. Some failures cannot be unwrought. Some students are beyond your ken to save.





	On Bloodied Thorns

The doors to the throne room lay ahead, you were all so close to putting an end to this. Your heart catches in your throat as you press through the thick of combat, dodging projectiles sent your way, countering and parrying any wayward strike aimed at you.

Claude shouts and lets loose a volley of arrows at the beasts that continued to block the way. You can hear Hilda’s axe screaming through the air, shattering bones and armor alike. Linhardt and Dorothea struggle to heal as best they can through the chaos. Ingrid and Petra swoop through the towering halls dodging the arrows whistling through the air.

“Looks like we're stopping here, teach! Sorry, but you're going to have to take on Edelgard yourself!” Claude shouted over the din, barely able to dodge the bolt of miasma sent his way. “We’ll hold the hall for you!”

Nodding, you charge forward, blade whirring through the air, knocking away any who lacked the self-preservation to stay out of your way, mind blank except for the thought of finally seeing her again. And in an instant, she’s there, sitting upon her throne, back ramrod straight as she gazes down upon you, Aymr in hand. The two of you take in the sight of the other, the fighting outside suddenly an afterthought.

You meet her gaze, heart torn asunder at the pain and hopelessness in your student’s, no, your love’s face. But even so, she sits there, unwavering in her conviction. She rises and you still feel awe at the radiance that seems to emanate from her. An idle thought wandered through your mind. How would history depict this moment? Would it capture the fragile silence hanging between the two of you? Showcase the blood both of you had spilled to reach this point? Could it do her visage true justice, or merely reduce her to a caricature of villainy? And you. Would you be the shining hero? The second coming of the divine Seiros, here to reunite these bitter warring states? You clench your teeth at that thought.

“It has been five years since we last met hasn’t it, my teacher?” Her voice rings clear across the throne room as she descends, armored boots muted against the deep red carpeted stairs. “I'm sorry. I was unable to keep my promise to you.”

“You don’t have to do this.” _We could run away, together_. You wanted to shout at her. But you wouldn’t. She was not one to waver from her path, nor could you abandon those who had placed their utmost faith and devotion in you. “You and Claude… You both believe in the same thing. A united and truly egalitarian Fódlan. There can be peace, a true peace.”

“He is not someone who has known the horrors of Fódlan, my teacher. I cannot entrust this task to an outsider. This is something I must do. Something only I can do.”

You grit your teeth, wondering how it ever came to this. Bitterness at all the mistakes you’ve made along the way, choices you wish you could undo. Was there nothing you could say, nothing that could convince her otherwise?!

“We were never one to settle things with words, my beloved teacher.” She smiles sadly as though she had read your mind, coming to a halt ten paces from you; readying her axe and waiting for you to draw your own blade. “The roads we’ve walked are too deeply soaked in the blood we've each shed for that.”

You ready your blade, gritting your teeth as you turned it upon the one you had sworn to protect. A beat passes, the clang of the fighting outside seemingly falling away from either of your senses. A moment, stretched into eternity. But not long enough.

In a flash, the two of you charge across the remainder of the throne room, summoning all the strength the two of you can muster. You can see her begin to swing, putting everything on the line for one desperate charge, one she knows you would be able to dodge with ease.

In the blink of an eye, it is all over.

* * *

“Oh!”

Raising an eyebrow at the exclamation, the corners of your mouth turn up just the slightest at the surprised yet pleased look on your precious student’s face.

“Is this Bergamot?” She brings her nose to the tea, inhaling deeply. Your stomach does backflips when she makes the cutest noise of contentment. “It is!”

“I had to cajole the store keeper to put out a special order last month.” Resting an elbow on the table, you settle your cheek in your hand, drinking in the sight. “It only took three months to find a blend you liked, but I was never one to back down from this sort of challenge.”

“You’ve seen right through me, as usual.” She sips the tea delicately, closing her eyes as the light citrus aroma washes over her. “I haven’t had this in so long… I’d forgotten how soothing it can be.”

“Peaceful days gone by?” You inquire, browsing the carousel of snacks and pastries the chef had prepared, before picking a simple sugar cookie off the top.

“Yes… Before…” She looks down into her cup, eyes clouded over with a fire and fury you recognized all too well. “But good times… I wish… Well, no sense in dwelling. Thank you for finding this for me.”

You wondered why you felt a sudden warmth spread in your stomach at the sight of her radiant smile. A strange feeling you are unaccustomed to. But pleasant nonetheless.

“Then… the future?” You inquire, pouring out another cup. “Or perhaps… your hopes for the future?”

“I feel like I’m always talking about myself when we can steal away like this.” She smiles coyly. “What about you, my dearest teacher?”

“Well... ” You regale her with tales of your battles, finding yourself embellishing small details here and there, capturing her rapt attention. Without fail, the discussions turn to all the locales you had been to, the sights you had seen, the people you had saved. She leans precariously on the edge of her seat, eyes focused only on yours.

The tea in the pot had long grown cold by the time the two of you had finished your conversation, the shadows soon encroaching upon your table. You jump in your seat at the curfew bell tolling, eliciting another laugh from your charge.

“I feel like this happens every time, we just get lost in conversation. The poor chef must be aghast at all the sweets that have gone stale.” She smiles at you, the darkness gone from her eyes.

“I’m sure the other students would clamor for cookies only a few hours old.” You quip back as you collect the trays to return to the dining hall.

“Until next time then, my teacher?”

“Until next time.”

* * *

“W-w-why?!” She screams at you, eyes frantic as your blade clangs to the ground, Aymr lodged deep into your shoulder and chest. “Why didn’t you dodge?!”

You can feel the seconds ticking down, time trying to rush back up the hourglass. But this was your time, time you refused to let slip through your fingers. You grunt as she releases her grip on the axe now lodged into you, hands scrabbling at your own armor. Her mouth aghast as she realizes what you had done.

Weakly raising a hand to her cheek, you cup it as tenderly as possibly, desperate to convey even a grain of what you feel for her. Somehow your heart breaks further as the tears spill out of her eyes, those haunted sunken eyes. You couldn’t protect her. You couldn’t stop her tears. Not this time. Not the time you are still able to rewind. You failed her here. Though there may be someone, some other you, out there who wouldn’t, you had failed. And this was all the time you had left.

Brushing away a wayward tear from your former student’s eyes, you hear an anguished yell coming from behind you. “Professor!”

An arrow flies past you, splintering off Edelgard’s armor, causing her to recoil. Collapsing to your knees, Edelgard follows suit, dropping down as her eyes frantically race over you, ignoring the splinters now maring her face, hands now soaked in your blood. You wince as Aymr digs deeper into you, struggling to hold back the hourglass threatening to tip back over.

“I love you, now... and always, El...” You force one last smile for your student, as your eyes slide shut, time finally pulling free of your grasp.

Eyes widen in shock. You can see the questions running through her head. You weren’t supposed to know that, how could you have known that? “How di-”

Suddenly the click of armor on carpeted stairs fills your ears once more. Opening your eyes, you see her finishing the descent from the throne.

“The roads we’ve walked are too deeply soaked in the blood we've each shed for that.” She stands at attention, waiting for you to respond in kind. Your jaw quivers, time was up.

You ready your blade once more and inhale. And in another instant, it is over once more.

* * *

“Byleth...”

You stop dead in your tracks at the voice calling out your name. Turning around you find Edelgard stepping into the hallway, hands fidgeting with her nightgown.

“Edelgard?” You cross the hall again, stepping in front of her. Perplexed at the girl who was always prim and proper using your name for once, you wonder what could possibly have happened. “What’s wrong? Did something happen?”

She looks away, biting her lip before turning back. “Tomorrow… You’re going with the Archbishop into the tomb?”

“Word gets around fast doesn’t it?” You smiled as lightly as possible, still wondering what was possessing her to break curfew like so, absent-mindedly reaching out to tuck a stray hair behind her ear. That sensation again, your stomach turning over when you see the tips of her ears flush pink.

“It does… Will you be alright?” Edelgard meets your gaze and you can see the storm of worry and doubt present.

“I’ll be fine. It’s probably nothing after all.” You wonder about that, your father’s warning still weighing heavily on your mind. “But why are you still awake? Concerned about your professor that much?”

Her cheeks flush red and you’re relieved to see some of the clouds lift from her gaze. “Just… busy… making plans for the future.”

“The future is a ways off.” You frown at the sad smile she offers you. She fidgets looking away and back. You patiently wait, wondering what could be bothering her so.

“Will you… Would you stay the night?” You peer at her, eyes filled with confusion and wondering how that was related to the previous topics at hand. “Just… It’s one of those nights. I… The last time you were here, I… I slept better.”

You see her hands worrying the lace of her nightgown out of the corner of your eye as her cheeks flush maroon.

“N-n-nothing untoward! I promise… I’d just… like for you to keep me company tonight.”

Nodding your consent, but still confused, you cross the threshold, noticing that most of the walls were now barren, desk empty save one or two remaining textbooks. You turn and see your student with her back pressed against the door looking at your with a mixture of pain and some other feeling you can’t identify.

“What’s wrong?” You cross the room back towards her, reaching out to take her cheek in your hand. A habit you shouldn’t indulge yourself in, but one of you had developed and she had not complained about.

“I’m leaving the academy soon, Ardrestia needs me.” She leans her cheek into your hand, you watch her throat bob as she struggles to find the words. “I wanted… I wanted to make sure you knew, before I left, how much I care for you.”

“I care for you as well, Edelgard.” You frown, a lance of unease shooting through you now. “You can always visit me here whenever you have a break from your royal duties. Neither I nor the monastery are going anywhere.”

“Of course...” Eyes screwed shut, she takes a shuddering breath, “But still… these peaceful academy days… I’d like just this one moment for ourselves. A selfish plea from your student.”

You rack your mind, struggling to think of how to comfort your clearly hurting student. A sensation, less memory than impression stirs at the back of your mind, and you instinctively pull her in for a hug, arm round her waist, hand pulling her head into your shoulder. You could recall Jeralt doing this the first time you had slain a bandit in cold blood. Holding you tight, even as the whispers speaking of his ashed faced demon flitted about, telling you that you had done the right thing. You could only hope your own facsimile of that embrace could soothe her the way you had been soothed.

“One moment, just for you.” You find yourself whispering, no longer sure where the words were coming from. Silence filled the room, broken only by the tinkling of wind chimes outside, as you held her close to you.

“Just this night... ” She pleads again, hands clutching tightly at your back, face buried into the crook of your neck. “Just this one night, stay with me.”

She guides you to the bed, gently pushing you forwards. The back of your knees hit the base of the frame and you find yourself slipping. Instinctively, you let go of your charge as you feel yourself fall. But a blink of an eye later, you find yourself spread eagle across the bed with Edelgard atop you. You could feel the heat from the shaky hands on either side of your face, the tickling sensation of her hair falling down to frame her face and your own, that unidentifiable emotion flickering across her violet eyes. Your own stomach flip-flopping from clearly more being laid flat on your back.

She leans down, dropping her forehead to lightly touch your own. Your arms work on nothing but instinct, finding their way around her waist and pulling her towards you, her hips settling against your own. If not for the faint puff of her breath reaching over your lips, you would have thought time frozen once more. Her jaw quivers and you can feel her start to lean down.

The two of you start as the window bangs from a sudden gust of wind. Edelgard leaps off of you, staggering backwards until she’s pressed up against the desk. You feel the sudden lack of her keenly, still wondering why your stomach seemed to be doing an entire acrobatics routine.

“Forgive me… It was improper of me to ask this of you. I forgot myself.” Her face is a deep crimson, ears deeper red still. “It’s getting late, I don’t want to keep you. It wouldn’t do well for the other students to think you were playing favorites.”

“Edelgard…”

“I’ll be alright, my teacher.” She forces a smile that doesn’t meet her storm filled violet eyes. “I promise, I’ll visit again and show you all I’ve accomplished.”

The next day you descend into the tomb with Rhea.

* * *

With a deep clang, Aymr falls to the ground. Your blade drops to your side as Edelgard collapses to her knees, armor cracked from your strike.

“I could never… land one hit on you, could I?” She smiles bitterly as she clutches her rapier, struggling to stay upright to look up at you.

“It seems… as though my path… ends here…” You meet her gaze once more, struggling to hold back tears that seem to come all too easily nowadays. “ My teacher… claim your victory… Strike me down… or the fighting that rages across this country will never end.”

How many times have you heard her say this? How many times have you tried to find another way. You can feel Sothis at the edge of your consciousness, quietly observing, lending you strength beyond what you should rightfully still be able to muster. For someone without a heartbeat, yours has broken far more than you thought possible.

“Your path… lies across my grave.”

_And how many times must I bury you?_ You scream in your head, raging against this world that refused to yield to you, nonetheless advancing forward slowly, face impassive. She shakily grasps at Aymr, letting the crest glows weakly before letting go one last time. Her eyes flicker shut momentarily, but she meets your eyes once more. “It is time... for you to find the courage to walk it.”

Your heart drops. Time. There was never enough time. 

_It was fated. _You can hear Sothis echo to you. The choices you were unable to undo. They were yours to shoulder until the end of time. But how were you supposed to walk without her? Your path was meant to be shared, to walk together side by side, come what may.

“If I must fall… let it be by your hand.” Her voice cracks as your approach, but she does not waver, kneeling before you, gaze filled with regret but also acceptance. “I wanted…”

Her eyes fall away and you harden your gaze, gritting your teeth. Standing before her, you raise your blade, heart shattering into a thousand pieces once more. You would not look away, this was your task, your penance. You would not forget, imprinting every moment into the very fabric of your existence.

“To walk with you.” She whispers, as you bring the blade down upon her.

* * *

“I dreamt of you the other night.” You slide an arm across her waist as she pulls your shared covers over her, pulling her close to you.

“Of me?” She doesn’t resist, laughing slightly as you bury your face into the back of her neck. “Do tell.”

“Of being without you.” You shudder slightly, letting loose a breath against the exposed bare skin, still feeling the pang of your heartbreak reverberating through every fiber of your being. You can feel her pause, hear her frowning at the thought.

“You will never be without me.” She says softly turning over to face you, raising her hand to your face, soft violet eyes peering deep into blue ones, wiping away tears of a time gone by.

**Author's Note:**

> (I posted this under the wrong relationship tag before... thank's ao3....)
> 
> I love Edeleth so much... Played through the Black Eagles first, I love my queen but was sad about how some of the behind the scenes world-building gets cut down. 
> 
> For all the time shennanigans, I've headcanonned that every Byleth is semi-connected to all the others by virtue of Sothis being The Beginning. So they can "remember" all the choices that have been made or not made. The other Byleths aren’t “fake” but surface like a distant memory or come through in dreams. Even though Sothis’s creststone leaves you at the end of the Black Eagles playthrough, I imagine that she truly has just become something that’s part of the fabric of your very existence. This particular one is a Byleth that couldn't bring herself to strike down Edelgard but also choose to lead the Golden Deer (Also Edeleth is canon in every timeline and universe and you can't change my mind!).
> 
> I haven't written anything new in well over a year and this is only lightly edited to save my normal editor from spoilers... But I hope you were able to enjoy it!


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